Factor VII Assay, Plasma

Human Factor VII is a vitamin K-dependent glycoprotein that circulates in blood as an inactive zymogen. It plays a critical role in the initiation of coagulation by binding to tissue factor, which is exposed on vascular injury. This interaction enables factor VII to be rapidly activated to factor VIIa; the factor VIIa-tissue factor complex then initiates blood coagulation by activating factor IX as well as factor X. Factor VII deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder. Afflicted patients exhibit a highly variable hemorrhagic predisposition, and the correlation between bleeding tendency and plasma level of factor VII activity is often discordant.

This test (along with others) is used in the differential diagnosis of bleeding disorders. Extremely low levels of factor VII are associated with severe bleeding episodes including hemarthroses (bleeding into a joint) and intracranial hemorrhage.

2 ml Citrate Plasma Frozen

By Report